


One Step at a Time

by buckdiaz



Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Little!TK, M/M, Non-Sexual Age Play, Papi!Carlos, Tarlos Secret Santa, Tarlos Secret Santa Exchange, daddy!carlos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:54:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28244247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buckdiaz/pseuds/buckdiaz
Summary: TK and Carlos embark on the next step in their relationship..... becoming cat dads!
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand
Comments: 10
Kudos: 43
Collections: Tarlos Secret Santa Exchange





	One Step at a Time

**Author's Note:**

  * For [asherly89](https://archiveofourown.org/users/asherly89/gifts).



> Written for the Tarlos Secret Santa hosted over on Tumblr. 
> 
> Thank you so much to Puppy for helping and cheering me on as I wrote this, I seriously don't think I would've finished on time if it wasn't for your help! 
> 
> Thank you to Sy for helping me work out some very important details for the story and for helping me with Striker and Lucy! The story wouldn't be what it is if not for you! 
> 
> <3

“Baby,” Carlos whispered quietly as he walked over to the bed. Sitting down by TK’s back, Carlos smiled as he looked down. TK was still fast asleep, his teddy and blanket clutched in his arms as he snored softly. Their bedroom was dark thanks to the blackout curtains they’d gotten to help TK sleep better during his naps. 

“TK,” Carlos leaned down and kissed TK’s forehead as he brushed his hair back. A little whine came from him as he stirred slightly. 

“Time to wake up, it’s lunchtime,” 

TK whined louder, curling up around his blanket and teddy before doing a big yawn. Rubbing TK’s back, Carlos reached out and turned the lamp on the nightstand on. “Nooo,” TK whined as he kicked his legs, his eyes now open but squinting at him. 

“Papi, I don’t want to get up, sleep more,” TK protested, dragging his blanket over his eyes as he patted the bed to try and locate his missing pacifier. 

Picking up the paci from the other side of the bed, Carlos held it to TK’s mouth before he scooped him up on his lap. 

“No more sleeping until bedtime now, baby,” Carlos said as kissed TK’s cheek. “It’s lunchtime so there’s a bowl of mac n cheese waiting for you,” he added as he sat TK up a bit. He looked very tired as he leaned on Carlos while rubbing his eyes. 

“Daddy, carry TK,” TK said as he wrapped his arms around Carlos. 

Chuckling, Carlos wrapped his arms around TK and held on to him tightly as he stood up and started carrying him into the kitchen. 

“There are some watermelon and goldfish waiting for you too,” Carlos told him as he put him down on the chair and pushed it in. Smiling as TK handed over his stuffie and blanket without question, Carlos took the paci from his mouth. 

“What drink do you want, baby?” 

TK grinned as he picked up some goldfish and shoved them into his mouth. “Chocolate milk, please, Papi,” he said happily before grabbing his fork and getting started on his mac n cheese. 

Moving TK’s chair just a tiny bit closer to the table, Carlos walked over to the fridge and got the chocolate milk out. He, of course, also got the matching sippy cup for the paw patrol plate and snack bowl TK was currently eating out of cause he didn’t want to make that mistake again... 

Once TK had everything he needed, he poured himself a half cup of coffee before walking over to sit down next to him. Smiling as he put a hand on TK’s back, Carlos stroked it up and down a few times as he sipped his coffee. He was glad TK had woken up in a good mood after his nap. 

“Papi, play in the pool after?” TK asked while chewing on his mac n cheese. 

Glancing outside, Carlos smiled and nodded. “Sure, we can do that. We have to wait 30 minutes though, going swimming after a big meal is dangerous,” Carlos teased, turning more towards TK. 

Pouting, TK dropped his fork and looked sadly over at Carlos. 

“30 minutes is forever, I can’t wait that long. I bet it’s not even that dangerous, I’m very tough, daddy,” TK explained but Carlos just shook his head. 

“We’re waiting 30 minutes, baby. Finish your lunch. I promise it won’t be that long. We have to pick out your swimming trunks, get your sunscreen on, and pick a towel,” TK picked up his fork reluctantly and took another bite. 

“Okay,” TK sighed sadly, devastated he’d have to wait a whole 30 minutes before he could go in their pool. 

Picking up his coffee cup, Carlos hid his grin as he took another sip, happy that he could take his time with his coffee and getting TK ready for a swim. 

\--

After a lot of whining, TK was finally covered head to toe in sunscreen and he was wearing his swimming trunks. They were blue and covered in different kinds of dinosaurs, and they were TK’s favorite swimming shorts, regardless if he was in his little headspace or not. 

“Papi, can we please go in the pool now? It’s been hours,” TK whined loudly yet again. Carlos rummaged through a drawer in their commode, letting out a victorious sound as he finally found TK’s swimming goggles. 

“You got all your bath toys?” Carlos asked as he walked over and put the swimming goggles on TK’s head. 

“Yes! I got my mermaid and my shark and my ball and my froggie,” TK grinned as he looked at the toys by his side. “Paci?” he asked hopefully, looking up at Carlos as he gathered the toys. 

“Not in the pool, you know Papi doesn’t like it when you drop it into the water and put it back in your mouth. The water can be yucky,” Carlos explained. TK sighed and took Carlos’s hand. “Yes, Papi,” 

Standing by the side of the pool, TK watched as Carlos pulled the cover off. He threw his toys in and stepped inside before immediately diving under the water. Coming out from the water, TK grinned as he shook his head, sending water flying everywhere. 

“Daddy, did you see? I dove under the water!” TK said proudly as he knelt on his knees, grabbing his mermaid doll. It was only a paddling pool so it wasn’t any deeper than a bathtub. 

“I saw, very good dive, baby,” Carlos grinned as he sat down on his sunlounger that was right next to the pool. As he listened to TK talking animated to his toys, Carlos leaned back and watched him, his heart full of love. It also gave him the idea for one of TK’s Christmas gifts. A snorkeling set. The boy just kept going under the water no matter how many times Carlos told him not to. 

\--

It had been just over an hour when Carlos sees that TK is shivering slightly and he decides they’re done being in the pool for today. 

“Baby, time to get out okay? You should have told me you were cold,” Carlos said as he got up from his sunlounger and went to get TK’s towel. 

“I’m not cold! And I don’t wanna get up yet,” TK protested as he had his froggie sit on the mermaids back as he made her swim around him. 

“You’re shivering, that means you’re cold, so you’re done,” Carlos explained as he stood by the edge of the pool and held out his hand for TK. 

“But, Papi, I don’t wanna get up,” TK whimpered and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “I want to play more,” he looked up at Carlos with his best puppy eyes. 

“TK, time to get out of the pool, you can play more inside,” Carlos told him sternly and beckoned him over. 

Huffing and puffing as he got up, TK did his best to try and splash Carlos as much as possible, only getting more annoyed when Carlos didn’t seem to mind, and now that he was standing up he was feeling really cold. Hurrying over to Carlos, he took hold of Carlos’s hand as he stepped out of the pool. 

Shivering as Carlos wrapped the towel around him tightly, he whimpered while Carlos pulled his swimming shorts down and rubbed him dry as quickly as possible. 

“I’m cold!” TK complained, clutching at the edge of the towel up by his neck. 

“I know, love. You’re dry enough so let’s go inside and warm you up,” Carlos replied as he put an arm around TK’s shoulder, rubbing his arm to try and give him some warmth as they headed inside. 

Sitting down on the couch, TK pulled his legs up, wrapping his arms around them tightly. 

Carlos grabbed a blanket from the side of the couch and threw it around TK. “I’ll be right back, going to grab you some clothes okay?” he said, giving TK a kiss on the forehead. 

“Okay. Can I have my teddy and paci too, please daddy?” TK asked as he snuggled into the blanket, lying down on the couch. “Of course,” Carlos replied with a smile as he headed for their bedroom. 

Opening the closet, Carlos searched for TK’s pajama bottoms and a hoodie. He also grabbed a pair of fuzzy socks and some underwear before he walked back into the living room, stopping by the kitchen to grab TK’s paci and teddybear. 

The little minute he had been away, TK had turned on the TV and had started watching the Disney movie, Brave, his most recent obsession. 

“Sit up for me, baby. Let’s get you into some clothes so you don’t get a cold,” Carlos said, smiling as TK sat up right away, his eyes glued to the TV. “Paci?” he asked distracted and held out his hand for it. Chuckling, Carlos placed it on his hand and watched as TK brought it to his mouth and sucked on it quickly. 

Bending down, Carlos slid the fuzzy socks onto TK’s feet. “Stand up, please,” he said as he grabbed the underwear from the pile of clothes. TK slowly got on his feet, dropping the blanket and towel onto the floor. Carlos handed him the underwear and TK put them on quickly before sitting down again. 

“Still need to put your PJ bottoms on, baby,” Carlos said as he held them out. TK glanced at them and shook his head. “No thank you, Papi,” TK replied and pushed Carlos’s hand away. “You sure?” Carlos asked, watching as TK nodded. “Okay, thank you for being so polite, what a good boy,” Carlos smiled, ruffling TK’s hair, making TK look up and grin at the praise. 

“You do need to put this on though,” Carlos told him as he picked up the hoodie and handed it over. TK took it without protest and slipped it on before grabbing his bear and giving it a cuddle. 

Taking a seat next to TK, Carlos put his feet up on the coffee table and got comfortable. He wasn't surprised when three seconds later, TK climbed into his lap and rested back against his chest, dragging the blanket with him. “I love you,” Carlos whispered as TK used his teddy bear to prop up his arm so he could play with Carlos’s earlobe without too much strain on his arm. 

\--

A movie later, two episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and a switch from little headspace to big headspace, TK groaned as he stretched out, hitting the wall with his hands. 

“You’re the comfiest person I know,” he said before getting up and heading over to the kitchen. “You want some?” TK asked Carlos as he grabbed himself a bottle of water.

“No, I’m good, thank you,” Carlos told him, shooting him a smile before turning back to the TV. 

Water bottle in hand, TK headed for the snacks cupboard and hummed lightly as he looked around for something good. Grabbing a bag of cheese and onion potato chips, he opened it and took a chip as he closed the cupboard. 

“Hey, I have to talk to you about something by the way,” Carlos said as he sat up properly on the sofa, watching as TK came back over with his snacks and water. 

“Oh? What’s up?” TK asked as he sat down, shooting him a concerned look. Carlos took hold of TK’s hand and gave it a squeeze. 

“I know that there’s something you’ve been wanting for a while, and I’ve thought about it a lot and I think we should go for it,” Carlos told him softly. TK looked at Carlos wide-eyed, confused, and very lost. 

“What are you talking about?” he asked while trying to remember if he’d ask for anything lately. 

“If you’re still up for it.. I’d like us to go to the shelter and look at a cat for us to bring home,” TK blinked as he stared at Carlos. 

“Are you joking? Carlos! Are you serious?!” TK said as he got up on his knees and moved closer to him. 

“Carlos! If you’re kidding with me right now, I’m going to cry!” TK sniffled. “I’m not kidding!” Carlos chuckled, grinning as TK threw himself at him. 

“When are we going to the shelter? Can we go now?” TK asked excitedly as he squeezed Carlos tightly before pulling back to look at him. Carlos smiled as TK was practically vibrating. 

“The shelter is closed for visitors now but we can go tomorrow and have a look. We’ll have to go to PetCo first and get a carrier, litterbox, food, and all the things. Some toys and blankets,” TK clapped his hands excited before getting up and rushing over to where his iPad was charging before ripping the cord out and rushing back over to Carlos. 

“We need to look at what they have and make a detailed list! We need a battle plan. The sooner we finish at the store and set things up at home the sooner we can have our cat!” TK said loudly as he typed in the address for PetCo. 

More than happy to just supervise, Carlos stroked and played with TK’s hair as he watched TK fill up the basket with everything they’d need and a few things that were just for fun. He was glad TK liked his little surprise. 

\--

“Carlos?” TK whispered as he poked him in the cheek. “Carlos, wake up,” he whispered a bit louder and pinched Carlos’s nose shut. Jerking up, Carlos looked around confused. 

“What’s happening? Why are you dressed? What, what time is it?” he asked as he looked around, rubbing his eyes. 

“I checked the opening hours at the shelter and PetCo, they both open at 9 am so I thought we could be there by opening hours at PetCo so we can get to the shelter as soon as possible, it’s 8 am now so you really need to get up and get dressed cause we’re running behind schedule,” TK explained, he patted Carlos’s chest before yanking the duvet down. “Let’s go!” he said as he clapped his hands and got off the bed. 

Carlos dropped down onto the mattress with a little groan. He should’ve seen this coming. 

“I don’t hear footsteps, Carlos!” TK shouted from the kitchen. “Yeah, coming,” Carlos shouted back as he swung his feet off the bed. “I need coffee,” he sighed before trudging over to the bathroom. 

\--

Armed with his travel cup of coffee and a protein bar, cause they apparently did not have time to actually eat breakfast at home, Carlos got behind the wheel of his car and put in the address for their closest PetCo store. 

“You know, we should probably go to the store and then drive back home so we can have everything set up for the cat when we get back from the shelter,” Carlos pointed out as he started driving. 

TK sighed in his seat as he looked at Carlos. “I know you’re right but I really don’t want you to be. I just want to get a kitty and bring it home right away to play with her,” he replied, picking at the lint on his pants. 

“Do you think I’ll be a good cat dad? I already know you will be ‘cause you take care of me all the time,” TK asked worried.

“Of course you will be! You take such good care of Buttercup already and you take care of me more than you know,” Carlos confidently said as he reached out for TK’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “You’re so full of love, patience, and good that being a cat dad, or any type of dad, will not be a problem. I’m sure of it,” 

“Carlos,” TK whined and pouted. “Stop being so nice. Thank you, I love you,” he told him and brought their hands up so he could press a kiss to the top of Carlos’s hand. 

“That’s a request I’ll always say no to. Never going to stop showering you in love and kindness!” Carlos grinned before taking a sip of his coffee and pulling into the parking lot for PetCo. Tk squealed and clapped his hands excited. “We’re here!” 

Opening up his seatbelt, he checked the time. “There’s still another 7 minutes till they open, what are we going to do? That’s such a long time,” TK groaned and slumped down in his seat. 

“Did you bring your badge with you? You could maybe say it’s a very urgent police matter and get them to open early for us,” TK mused but as he looked over at Carlos he got his answer pretty quick just from Carlos’s eyes alone.

“Well, since you’re not going to abuse your police power can I then give you a blowjob in this car ‘cause other couples totally do that,” TK suggested and wriggled his eyebrows at Carlos. Again he was just met by a stare. “You come up with something then!” TK huffed. “I’m giving you so many good ideas but you’re not saying anything. 

Carlos held up a finger to quiet down TK before leaning over and opening up the glove box. Grabbing a bag of goldfish, he took off the bag clip and handed it over to TK with a smile. “I think it’s time for a snack,” he said gently and closed the glove box before grabbing his travel mug and sipping his coffee. “You’re literally the best human,” TK said, his mouth already full with goldfish. Chuckling, Carlos shook his head as he watched TK snack away. 

As soon as the clock struck 9 am, they were out of the car and walking into Petco. TK was beaming as he grabbed a shopping cart and headed straight for the toys. Since they didn’t know what cat they’d be getting or what the cat would prefer they ended up with a selection of different toys. There were balls, toy mice, catnip toys, crunchy toys, squeaky toys, toys on strings, and brain toys. 

They encountered their first problem when they went to grab some cat food. “There are too many options! I mean we should totally get a big bag to save money but what if the cat doesn't like it? We can’t return it..” TK said, overwhelmed as he looked at all the options. Carlos stood with his arms crossed over his chest as he read the names and descriptions of all the different foods. 

“Okay, honestly I think our best option right now is to wait with the food until we’ve been to the shelter and ask what they give them there and try to match it. We’d have to stop by here on the way home but it beats buying a big bag of something that potentially doesn’t get eaten,” Carlos suggested. “Yeah, I think you’re right. And if we don’t like the food they’re giving at the shelter we can always buy a small bag of that food and buy another small bag of the food we’d prefer her to eat,” TK added as he grabbed the shopping cart. “Sounds like a plan,” Carlos agrees. 

\--

TK’s foot was bouncing up and down quickly and he was gnawing on his lip. They had bought everything they needed, except the food, they had set up everything at home and done some extra cat safety measures to make sure nothing they really loved got knocked over and now they were minutes away from the shelter. 

Bringing his hand up, TK bit down on his nails as he squirmed in his seat before his feet up and hugging them. “Daddy, what if the kitty doesn’t like me?” TK asked quietly before popping his thumb into his mouth. 

Carlos glanced over at TK. “The kitty is going to love you so much, baby. I know it but TK, if you need to be little when we go in we need to over our rules,” Carlos said as he kept driving. TK hummed as he sucked on his thumb. 

Finding an empty parking spot, Carlos shut off the engine and turned to look at TK. “Look at Papi, please,” he said and nudged TK’s chin so he would look at him. 

“You can’t suck your thumb when we’re inside the shelter. We’ll be touching a lot of new things in a new place, and we’ll be cuddling with a lot of kitties so our fingers will be dirty,” Carlos told him sternly. 

TK took his thumb out of his mouth and nodded. “Yes, Papi,” Carlos smiled. “Good boy. I also need you to call me Carlos and be a very well behaved boy when we’re inside because we don’t know these people and we don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable with our kinks and preferences, that wouldn’t be very nice would it?” Carlos asked TK. Shaking his head no, TK played with the string on his hoodie. “Nu-uh, not nice,” he agreed. 

“You’re being so good already, I know you’ll crush it inside too,” Carlos praised him before getting out of the car and getting the door for TK. “Oh, I almost forgot. We need to bring in the carrier cage,” Carlos remembered and grabbed it from the backseat. 

Walking hand in hand over to the front door, Carlos opened the door and let TK walk inside. 

“Hi, I’m Carlos Reyes, I called a few days ago about adopting a cat and was told to come down and have a look?” Carlos said charmingly to the receptionist. “Carlos! Hi, I’m Rebecca, I remember you, we spoke on the phone! I’m so glad you decided to make the trip to our center today, we have a lot of cats who're needing a forever home!” She excitedly greeted them as she stood up from behind the desk. 

“I’m just going to get my colleague and she’ll help you look around,” Rebecca said before disappearing into the back room. TK squeezed tightly on Carlos’s hand. “I’m so excited to play with the kitties!” TK told him, grinning up at him. “Me too,” Carlos replied, giving him a big smile back. 

Rebecca came back with her co-worker, Lindsey and after a quick introduction round, they headed into the main room where they had all the cats. The room was a lot bigger than TK had expected and all around the room by the walls, there were two rows of cages that had two rooms each. And there were a lot of cats. 

There were meows coming from everywhere and it was almost overwhelming to take in. The cats were of all ages and breeds. 

“So what kind of cat were you thinking of getting? Have you thought about age, size, anything like that?” Lindsey asked as they started walking by the cages. TK made sure to let all the cats smell him and were overjoyed when most of the cats would want pets and scratches. 

“I think we agreed that we’d like an adult cat. We feel pretty confident that the kittens will be adopted and find a good home but that maybe not everyone would give an adult cat a big of a chance? But like size and breed, we haven’t really talked about. Nothing too huge though, like those meter long cats, we don’t have enough space for a cat that size,” Carlos explained. 

“Carlos! Look at this one! It’s like Salem from Sabrina the Teenage Witch!” TK said excitedly as he wriggled his finger in the opening on the cage door. “Her name is Lucy, I like her a lot,” he added as Carlos joined him. 

“Hi Lucy,” Carlos said softly as he let Lucy smell him. Lucy bumped her head against his fingers before lying down and licking her paw. “Awwwww!” TK cooed and stroked her fur as best as he could through the little opening. “She’s my favorite so far!” “She’s very cute,” Carlos agreed before they stepped away and went to meet the rest of the cats. “I’ve never seen her act like that with anyone before. She’s usually a lot more feisty,” Lindsey told them as they stepped away. 

30 minutes later and they both had their favorites, and a choice to make. They had Lucy, a beautiful black Bombay cat that was two years old. She had been returned to the adoption center several times after people found her two wild, playful, and too naughty. There was also Striker. A gorgeous Seal Lynx Point Bengal cat with the most stunning blue eyes, cream-white fur with brownish markings all over his body. 

By now TK had returned to his adult mindset and was anxiously chewing on his nails as he tried to pick one of them. Personally, he had connected more with Lucy but Carlos had fallen in love with Striker and it seemed like Striker had done the same. And Striker was older and had been there longer. 

“We should get Striker,” TK spoke up and looked at Carlos before he walked over to the cage where Striker was. Smiling as Striker meowed loudly and put his paw out, TK put his fingers in and stroked him as best as he could. “What do you say? Want to come home with us?” TK asked. Striker meowed loudly, pushing back against TK’s fingers. “I think that’s a yes!” TK grinned. 

“Wonderful! Let’s get Striker ready to go. I’ll go get the necessary papers and then he is all yours,” Lindsey said excited before walking out to the reception area. 

\--

“His eyes are so blue!” TK gushed yet again as he carefully put the carrier cage down on the floor, Striker looking curiously out through the openings of the door. Double checking that the front door was closed, TK sat down on the floor and opened the cage door slowly. 

“Welcome home, Striker!” He said gently. Carlos squatted down next to him. “We hope you’ll like it, we bought you so many toys, we’re going to build you an amazing catio so you can get fresh air and look at the birdies,” Carlos told him softly as Striker slowly made his way out of the carrier cage. Striker walked around smelling everything and TK was on the floor with him the whole time as they explored the house, crawling along and explaining to him what everything was. 

“Papi! He went poopoo in his litter box!” TK gasped excited and grabbed one of the treats from the bag that was placed upon the counter. “Good job, Striker!” TK praised him and gave him the treat. Striker meowed before running back into the living room and pouncing on to one of TK’s stuffies that hadn’t been cleared away. 

“Striker, no! That’s my toy! These are your toys!” TK whimpered and quickly gathered the puppy stuffie into his arms and shoved some of the cat toys towards him. Striker immediately attacked the little bird toy. “You can only play with my toys if I say it’s okay,” TK told him as he stroked his stuffie. 

Carlos looked up from his laptop where he was searching up catio building plans. “You’ll need to learn to clean up all your toys every day or Striker will play with them. It’s hard for him to see what’s his toys and your toys,” Carlos told him. TK pouted and cuddled his little pup. Chuckling, Carlos shut his laptop and lied down on the couch. “Come here, baby,” he patted his stomach before holding out his arms for him. 

TK shuffled over to the couch before climbing up and lying down on Carlos. “Striker needs a toy boy too and then we can get our names on the toy box and then he’ll learn the toys in his toy box are his and he can’t go near mine,” TK said as he put his thumb into his mouth and sucked on it slowly. 

“We can always try that,” Carlos grinned amused, stroking TK’s hair gently. “I think it’s someone's nap time,” he whispered. TK shook his head. “No, gonna play with Striker,” TK protested but made no attempt to move. 

Wrapping his arms around TK, Carlos managed to sit up and stand up while holding on to TK. “Striker is going to be here when you wake up again, you can play with him then,” Carlos told him as he carried TK into the bedroom. Lying him down on the bed, Carlos watched as TK stretched out for his paci and did a big yawn before popping it in his mouth. 

Taking off TK’s sock and jeans, Carlos smiled as TK rolled over on his stomach and cuddled his pup, curling up with his blankets. “Have a good nap, Papi loves you so much,” Carlos bent down and pressed a kiss to TK’s cheek before pulling the blankets over him. 

Walking out of the room he left the door slightly open so he could hear if TK woke up, had a nightmare, or just got fussy. The poor boy was tuckered out after waking up early and having been so excited about going to the shelter, switching between headspaces, and from playing around with Striker all morning. They’d only been cat dads for four-five hours and Carlos already had so many pictures of Striker and TK on his phone. 

Tidying up in the living room, Carlos couldn't stop thinking about the way TK had bonded with Lucy though. Sitting down on the couch, he looked up at the ceiling. Going from one cat to two cats wouldn’t be that much different would it?.. He had much to think about. 

Sighing, he looked around from Striker but couldn’t see him anywhere. Standing up, he looked around the kitchen but still nothing. Opening the bedroom door more, he smiled when he saw two eyes looking up at him. Striker was lying on TK’s back and looking very cute. Closing the bedroom door, leaving it just slightly open, Carlos got undressed and walked over to the bed. A little nap with his TK was just what he needed. 

Stretching out, Carlos pulled the blankets over himself and smiled as TK cuddled up to him. Striker walked up and laid down on TK’s pillow. 

Stroking TK’s cheek, Carlos knew that tomorrow he’d have to go back to the shelter and get Lucy, and that with her their family would be complete. At least for now anyway, Carlos thought, images of what the future could bring flashing through his mind making his heart flutter. 

But first, he’d get Lucy. 

One step at a time.


End file.
